Louisville Home Prices Stabilizing
Mar 10, 2010 News, Trends/Statistics
Price cuts seem to be slowing down in some markets, which indicates the real estate market could well be stabilizing, with Heather Fernandez, Trulia.com and CNBC’s Diana Olick.
Here’s an interesting CNBC spot on the stats that show homeowners aren’t cutting prices like they have been. Looks to be another sign that we’re nearing the end of this housing recession.
As always, keep in mind that the Louisville real estate market doesn’t experience the wild highs or lows that plaque other parts of the country (see this post).
Tags: CNBC, Diana Olick, Heather Fernandez, Trulia.com
Kentucky Tax Credit for Home Buyers Moves Closer to Reality
Mar 5, 2010 News
Kentucky HB 394 has passed the House Appropriations & Revenue committee and is now on to the full House and Senate. If this passes, it’ll be great news for home buyers in Louisville KY!
From the Home Builders Association of Kentucky (HBAK) comes further explanation.
House Bill 394, filed by Rep. Tommy Thompson, and co-sponsored by Rep. Bob Damron, Rep. Scott Brinkman, Rep. Ron Crimm and Rep. David Osborne, passed unanimously out of the House Appropriations & Revenue Committee, and will move to the Senate after passage in the full House.
This bill allows qualified buyers of new homes to utilize the state tax credit of up to $5,000 in conjunction with the Federal First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of $8,000 for first time home buyers and $6,500 for repeat home buyers.
Prior to its passage, the bill was amended in Committee to also be retroactive for those individuals who were unable to take advantage of the state tax credit due to language incorporated at the Federal level in November of 2009, which inadvertently made the state tax credit of no consequence.
Tags: Home Builders Association of Kentucky (HBAK), Kentucky HB 394
Louisville Home Show March 5-7
Feb 25, 2010 News
The Louisville Home, Garden and Remodeling Show is just around the corner on March 5-7 at the Kentucky Expo Center. Always want to keep my readers up the latest news. If you have real estate related news that you’d like to promote, please contact me.
New Housing Starts Jump in January
Feb 18, 2010 News
A friend in the industry passed along this piece of news today:
What’s driving the market: Treasurys fell as improved economic and corporate news reassured investors about the strength of the burgeoning recovery, undermining demand for safe haven assets.
The National Association of Home Builders reported that housing starts jumped 2.8% in January to an annual rate of 591,000, which was more than expected. Housing starts were expected to have reached an annual rate of 580,000 units in January, according to a Briefing.com consensus of economist forecasts. Building permits, a measure of houses yet to be built, fell 4.9% to an annual rate of 691,000 units in January, which was better than expected. The rate of permits was expected to have slipped to 620,000 in January.
Positive news for the market as a whole, not just Louisville real estate. But as this rebound continues expect interest rates to climb as well. If you’ve been waiting to make your move, time could be running out.
New Construction in Louisville Waiting for Rebound
Feb 3, 2010 News, Residential
The CJ did a little piece on Monday about where the new construction numbers are and where they’re heading. It should be no surprise to anyone following the situation that most of the action is taking place at the low end of the price range due to the Federal home buyer’s tax incentives, but I did find this quote from a National Association of Home Builders economist interesting.
“It’s like, Louisville behaved really well at the party, but for some reason, you were as hung over as everyone else,” Denk said.
So the numbers would lead us to believe that Louisville’s housing market is poised for a rebound, but because that isn’t happening, what are the causes? Unemployment? Concern over the larger, economic picture? There are experts on both sides of these predictions.
Tags: Courier-Journal, National Association of Home Builders, new construction, Robert Denk
Tax Credit Helping Some Louisville Home Buyers
Feb 2, 2010 News
Nice piece in Business First of Louisville about how first-time homebuyers have made their move in today’s housing market due primarily to the tax credit currently being offered by the government. This makes a great deal of sense. Most watching the market understand that the recent increase in home sales is happening predominantly in the lower priced tiers where first-time homebuyers are focused.
What does this mean going forward? Are there still renters on the sideline watching to see what might happen next? Most assuredly.
Like I posted the other day, wise real estate decision makers should consider all four of these variables.
Chief among them are, 1) the historically low interest rates, 2) the never before seen tax credits from the government, 3) the reduced home prices, and 4) the large house inventories across the country.
The Business First article hits on #3 with:
The median selling price declined for the second consecutive year in 2009, falling to $132,000, according to the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors. In 2008, the median selling price was $135,000.
I have to agree with Jacki Shafer in the article that these drops are “unprecedented.” Even after the huge 12% increases of the late 70’s, the “rebound” years that followed were still postive. The average annual home value increase here in Louisville, Kentucky since 1978 is 4.76%. So actually having a decrease for 2009 is something of a rarity, even if it’s very small, especially compared to the rest of the nation.
Here you can see a chart of the year home value changes in Louisville, Kentucky going back to 1978. As you can discern, the negative value in 2009 is the first in the past 30 years. *Source: www.fhfa.gov
Act Before the Tax Credit Expires
For people currently considering a move, I would advise them to decide quickly as the current law requires that a sales contract needs to be finalized by April 30, 2010 in order to meet the tax credit requirement. For more specific details, visit the Federal Housing Tax Credit website.
If anyone reading this post is looking for a trustworthy Realtor®, please feel free to contact me and I’ll help you every step of the way.
Tags: Business First of Louisville, Federal Housing Tax Credit
Prices Drop Nationally, While Sales Increase in 2009
Jan 26, 2010 News
It appears that while home values were down more than expected for 2009 the number of sales increased over 2008. Keep in mind that the following data is from an AP story considering the country as a whole.
Still, prices plunged by more than 12 percent last year – the sharpest fall since the Great Depression. The price drop for 2009 – to a median of $173,500 – showed the housing market remains too weak to help fuel a sustained economic recovery. Total sales for 2009 were nearly 5.2 million, up about 5 percent from 2008.
As we wrote earlier this month about real estate in Louisville, Kentucky, “…from 2008 to 2009, the total of all home sales went up 2.5%, while prices dropped 4.5%.” Our sales experienced half the growth of the nation but only dropped 4.5% compared to the nation’s 12%.
Tags: AP, Louisville real estate
Louisville Build, Renovate and Landscape Expo
Jan 16, 2010 News
Forgot to post this earlier, but if you don’t have anything going on this weekend, you might want to visit the Louisville Build, Renovate and Landscape Expo being held at the Convention Center. They’ll have a large number of exhibits and experts on hand to answer any questions you might have. There’s another, larger event taking place in March as well.
Tags: events
November ‘09 Dwarfs November ‘08
Dec 16, 2009 News
Of course, real estate agents in Louisville are going to try and project a positive image to our city’s housing market. But the numbers don’t lie.
Last month’s home sales were 67 percent above November 2008. Lisa Stephenson says the high sales mark the continuation of a trend that began in summer.
“The last five months of 2009, we say increased sales over 2008,” she says. “So we’ve seen a really great 5 months. That started in July. June was about the same as last year.” [link]
Most of this is credited to the tax credits and entry-level portion of our market.
Tags: Lisa Stephenson
Louisville #24 in Bang-For-The-Buck Rankings
Dec 1, 2009 News, Trends/Statistics
I love lists! Can you tell? Some of LHB’s most popular posts are from my Top 10 Lists articles. Today, I’m talking about a recently releases Forbes.com list of Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities for 2009.
Of interest to real estate enthusiasts is the full rankings which shows Louisville’s strong suit to be low real estate taxes. Forbes puts us at 17th best in the country in that category. Future job forecasts looks pretty good too at 21. Our current unemployment numbers, however, aren’t as promising with a ranking of 66. The list only includes the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
Tags: Bang-For-The-Buck, Forbes
Louisville Real Estate as Investment
Nov 29, 2009 News
As we near year’s end, thoughts of planning fill many minds here in Louisville. How did we do this year? Will next year be better or worse? How should we change our financial plan?
Chris Otts had a piece in the CJ yesterday titled Time to rethink finances? He brings up the idea that gold isn’t the only way to hedge investments against the stock market.
Planners say clients have been asking about investing in gold because of fears about inflation, given the government’s unprecedented borrowing to intervene in financial markets.
“Gold is simply a fear investment at this point,” Gilliam said. “We caution our clients not to get too caught up.”
Jones, of PNC, said there are better inflation hedges than gold, such as Inflation-Protected Securities sold by the U.S. Treasury, real estate and corporate bonds — though gold could be part of a broad mix of investments.
I think the important point to note is that real estate can be a great investment but it can also be a terrible one. Having sound advice is key. The best thing you can do is find yourself a trusted Louisville Realtor, whether he be a residential or commercial specialist, before you consider purchasing any piece of real estate.
Tags: Chris Otts
Building Homes from Trash
Nov 26, 2009 News
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Not necessarily Louisville real estate, but it’s great to see Dan Phillips take discarded materials and building useful homes.
Tags: Dan Phillips
A Resource for Louisville Real Estate Investors
Nov 20, 2009 News
A month or two ago a gentleman asked if I was available for an interview. He wrote for Personal Real Estate Investor and was working on an article about real estate investing here in Louisville, KY.
At first, I didn’t know if I should accept. For starters, I’m not personally a real estate investor and secondly, the vast majority of my clients aren’t either. In the end, I decided to answer his questions to the best of my ability and leave the writing up to them.
I received my copy of the magazine the other day and was please how it turned out. For Louisville real estate investors, the current issue would be a smart investment. Who knows? Maybe you’ll like it so much that you’ll become a subscriber?
Senate Passes Extension for Tax Credit, Up to House Next
Nov 5, 2009 News
News out of Washington:
First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package. But with that program scheduled to expire at the end of November, the Senate voted 98-0 Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit to include buyers who already own homes. The House is expected to vote on the bill Thursday. [link]
If this passes the House, then all American have the opportunity to get tax credits in 2010.
The real estate industry has been pushing to extend and expand the housing tax credit. About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.
Update: House passes the bill 430-12. Here’s a rundown of the Home Buyer Tax Credit Changes.
Tags: tax credit
Louisville Housing Market Getting Mixed Signals
Oct 28, 2009 News, Trends/Statistics
The WSJ published this piece today—Home Prices Rise, Yet Confidence Fades—which highlights just how tricky things are in the housing market today. As always, you want to look at home buyers and sellers separately.
For home sellers, the fourth straight month of home value increases is a breath of fresh air after all they’ve been through. Home values are still down from highs that occurred in 2005 and 2006 (depending on market) but it’s most assuredly a step in the right direction. As prices continue to rise, expect to see more sellers list their homes, especially in the Spring.
The Louisville housing market follows Atlanta more closely than the national averages so we didn’t see the marked highs or lows seen in the national index.
Home buyers, on the other side, are seeing the end of bargain basement prices that many have enjoyed during this housing downturn. As prices return to more normal levels, Louisville home buyers will now need to pay a little more to get their choice home.
Inventory levels are still high (7,754 active listings for single-family homes in the Louisville MLS) and interest rates are just a point higher than the 30-year lows we experienced in 2003 (see below). In this environment, home buyers are still getting two of the three important factors to lean in their favor.
As you can tell, U.S. mortgage rates are still amazingly attractive.
The other piece of news in the WSJ article highlights that consumer confidence is down and appears to be dropping. This makes sense in light of the current unemployment situation but also points to consumers having little optimism about the direction our economy is heading. The current administration is spending money at a record pace while small business continue to bear too large a tax burden to truly foster innovation on a large scale.
Based on this, all consumers are being wary about how they spend their hard-earned dollars and understandably so. A great deal will always depend on your particular situation.
If you are considering a real estate transaction, my best advice is to find a trusted Realtor® and chat with him or her about your home and future plans. If you’d like to contact me, I always welcome emails from my readers.
Tags: home values, Louisville MLS, Mortgage Rates, WSJ
Louisville Housing Not ‘Out of the Woods’ Yet
Oct 22, 2009 News
There are a myriad of economic indicators that shed light on the future of real estate. Some, like mortgage rates, are extremely positive. Others are not.
One is new home building permits. Here in Louisville, newly issued permit numbers are down.
In Louisville, building permits are also down, mirroring the national trend. So far this year, Metro government has issued 592 permits for new single-family home construction — down from 789 during the same period in 2008, according to the city’s Codes and Regulations department Web site.
We’ll have to wait and see how things move heading into the Holidays. Traditionally, the Holidays have fewer real estate transactions.
Tags: Commerce Department
Kentucky Housing Offering Help to Louisville Home Buyers
Oct 5, 2009 News
There’s been a lot of attention given to the incentives offered by our National government. But there are five down payment and closing cost assistance programs currently being offered by our state government—the Kentucky Housing Corporation.
Make sure you read about the requirements for each program and bring these up with your lender before you find a property and write an offer. The following both look especially attractive.
HOME Special Program
- Purchase price up to $195,700.
- Assistance up to $10,000
- No monthly repayment; forgiven over five years.
- Existing homes only.
- Borrowers must meet HOME-income guidelines.
- Eligible borrowers include:
- Households that include a person with a permanent disability and who receives disability income (SSI, SSDI, Veterans Disability etc.).
- Households where at least one of the home buyers is age 62 or older.
HOME Family Program
- Purchase price up to $195,700.
- Assistance up to $10,000
- No monthly repayment; forgiven over five years.
- Existing homes only.
- Borrowers must meet HOME-income guidelines.
- Eligible borrowers include:
- Single- and two-parent households that have at least one dependent child under the age of 18 living in the household and that are first-time home buyers (have not owned a home or had an ownership interest in a home in the last 3 years).
For more, please visit the Kentucky Housing Corporation’s Web site.
Are Distressed Properties Worth the Hassle?
Oct 4, 2009 News
Quick post just to draw your attention to this well-written piece by the Wall St. Journal calling out the trials involved with purchasing a distressed property—either a foreclosure or short-sale. As is usually the case, the more tricky the transaction, the more valuable it is having expertise on your side.
Tags: Wall St. Journal
Louisville Awarded Top 20 Best Places to Retire
Sep 15, 2009 News
I’m not sure why Money magazine is doing a story called 25 Best Places to Retire, but in any event, they picked Louisville as the 20th best! Palm Springs has the weather, Pinehurst the golf but Louisville is getting national attention for our wonderful parks. This piece is highlighting the Louisville Loop which we talked about back in the Spring of 2008 as being a great move by our city to set itself apart.
According to the official Metro Parks Web site, the trail is still listed as “25% complete” but it may be that they’ve not updated their site in some time.
It should also be noted that part of the equation is median home prices. You can generally get a lot for your money in Louisville real estate.
Tags: Louisville Loop, Money magazine
Louisville Sees Home Sales Increase
Aug 28, 2009 News
Things are certainly picking up this summer. Whether they will continue to move upward through the Fall/Winter remains to be seen but come next Spring I expect a large number of new listings.
WAVE3’s Connie Leonard has an article titled, Louisville realtors and builders encouraged by surge in home sales, up on their site. Here’s a snippet:
Louisville realtors and home builders are cautiously optimistic right now. That’s because for the fourth consecutive month, the volume of re-sales and new home sales is growing faster than most economists predicted.
Very promising data for everyone but home buyers, who might soon be missing the opportunity to take advantage of these reduced home prices.
Tags: Connie Leonard, louisville ky
